Greg Jackson: Georges St. Pierre Too Smart to Fall Into Nick Diazís Game

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Greg Jackson: Georges St. Pierre Too Smart to Fall Into Nick Diazís Game

ďI donít think so just because Georges is so smart,Ē Jackson told the Sherdog Radio Networkís ďBeatdownĒ show. ďI always say that, but I donít know if people realize just how smart he really is. He understands the game extremely well. Even if he gets mad, heíll be able to control it and keep his business his business. Heís incredibly smart, like off-the-charts smart. I think heís going to be much too smart to fall for that.Ē

Diaz is also smart, though, and has ways of baiting opponents into fighting his fight.

ďNick Diaz as a fighter, I really like him because heís one of those few fighters that can almost always make somebody play his game,Ē Jackson said. ďHe does it in really smart ways. Heíll back you up against the fence and basically have a shootout that heís probably going to win. If you take him down, youíve got to deal with some really good ground skills. If you donít engage that, he throws his arms up. He starts trying to punk you. He tries to attack your manhood so that you get mad at him, so that you do start playing that game. Heís really smart at what he does. Heís very, very clever, but as long as you stay away from those things, as long as you control those elements, you have a good chance of winning. Itís just dealing with that really, really smart pressure that he has that makes this fight interesting.Ē

Of course, even if Diaz does get St. Pierre upset, that might not be a good thing, in Jacksonís view.

ďUp to the fight, Iím sure [St. Pierre] will be emotionally invested in it,Ē Jackson said. ďI wouldnít want to see Georges upset. Iíll put it that way. Heís a son of a gun even when heís calm and rational. Ö Iíve worked with that guy for years, and if you got him really upset and he stays focused, that would be a very dangerous individual.Ē

1.UFC 158 is the first event in UFC history where the top three bouts on the card feature a fighter coming off a win vs. one coming off a loss.

2.St. Pierre has the chance to tie Matt Hughes' record for the most wins in UFC history at 18. He could also pass Hughes' record for most total title defenses in UFC welterweight history with eight.

3.Diaz is the sixth fighter in UFC history to fight for an undisputed title after a loss, joining Randy Couture, Andrei Arlovski, Dan Henderson, B.J. Penn and Frankie Edgar.

4.Marquardt fights in the UFC for the first time since being cut in June 2011.

5.Johny Hendricks can tie Thiago Alves for third most UFC wins among active welterweights at 10.

6.Mike Ricci and Colin Fletcher, who face each other on the main card, both lost in the finals on their respective season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) reality show.

7.If St. Pierre fights to a decision, he will be just 39-seconds behind B.J. Penn for the most total fight time in UFC history.

8.All five of Diaz's UFC defeats are by decision.

9.Six fights on the card will feature a fighter coming off a win against a fighter coming off a loss.

10.George Roop will make his UFC Bantamweight debut on the card; marking the third different weight class he has competed in under the Zuffa banner (lightweight, Featherweight, bantamweight).

11.Ricci has fought eight of his 10 professional bouts in his home province of Quebec. He is 7-1 in those fights.

12.St. Pierre holds the current UFC record for most consecutive minutes of fighting without a finish while still earning a victory at 125.

13.Diaz can become the first man in the modern UFC history to hold the Strikeforce and UFC championship belts.

14.After putting together a six-fight UFC win-streak, Rick Story is 1-3 in his past four bouts.

15.According to the official UFC rankings, UFC 158 features five of the top seven ranked welterweights in the world.

16.Jordan Mein has finished his opponent in 21 of his 26 victories, 14 by (technical) knockout and seven by submission.

17.Diaz will become just the sixth man in modern UFC history to compete for the UFC and Strikeforce titles at some point in his career (Renato Sobral, Dan Henderson, Mauricio Rua, Jake Shields, Nate Marquardt).

18.Six of the 12 bouts on the card are welterweight contests.

19.Patrick Cote will attempt to string together back-to-back victories in the UFC for the first time since 2007 -- a span over 5.5 years.

20.Hendricks has won three fights in a row against top-10 opponents.

21.According to Fight Nomics, Marquardt and Ellenberger have 16 UFC knockdowns between them, the most of any pairing on the card.

22.St. Pierre is second to Anderson Silva for longest active win streak in the UFC at 10.

23.After fighting his first 26 professional bouts as a light heavyweight and middleweight, Patrick Cote will make his welterweight debut at UFC 158.

24.UFC 158 will mark St. Pierre's fourth consecutive bout in Canada.

25.Marquardt's last four losses have come by decision. Eight of 11 losses in the career of "The Great" are by way of decision.

26.St. Pierre is the longest tenured active welterweight on the UFC roster at nine years, one month and 16 days.

27.Hendricks has won "Knockout of the Night" in three of his past five UFC bouts.

28.Darren Elkins is undefeated (4-0) in the UFC featherweight division and 5-1 overall under the UFC banner.

29.In the 11 events the UFC has held in Canada, Canadian fighters are at 33-32 when facing opponents from other countries. There are seven Canada vs. the world bouts on the card.

13.Diaz can become the first man in the modern UFC history to hold the Strikeforce and UFC championship belts.

So if Georges wins he will hold both titles then? Or is just a Diaz only thing. Also since Strikefarce is gone that belt doesn't exist and Diaz left before it closed up shop so he should not be holding the belt anyway. Besides him in my opinion not having it, let's say he had it, then Carlos should have had his "belt" in which case Georges has already taken it.

So if Georges wins he will hold both titles then? Or is just a Diaz only thing. Also since Strikefarce is gone that belt doesn't exist and Diaz left before it closed up shop so he should not be holding the belt anyway. Besides him in my opinion not having it, let's say he had it, then Carlos should have had his "belt" in which case Georges has already taken it.

"I don't know [how the fight will play out], it's such -- one of the things that makes this card so interesting is I don't know how it's going to go. I know that GSP's a lot more riled up for this fight, and I hope to see him returning to that -- the actual ‘Rush' St. Pierre that I haven't seen since that loss to Matt Serra. You know, I used to be a really big GSP fan, but I have seen the way that his fights are kind of changing over the years and he has obviously not been very supportive of women fighters and Nick has always been one of my favorite fighters, I've always admired his fighting style since I even started doing MMA, so I hope he wins this."

"I think he can and I think he will, I want this to be a really good fight and I hope GSP comes out to fight and not win a couple rounds and if that happens it will be one of the most memorable fight cards ever."